Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

Outside Nanluoguxiang.

An elderly woman named Wang Cuilan helped a deaf old lady walk forward step by step, her expression somewhat absent-minded, and she almost twisted her ankle.

The deaf old lady didn't pay any attention, assuming that the older woman was just scared. After all, so many people had died in the yard, who wouldn't be scared?

Lin Jianguo and his family also went out.

Lin Jianguo walked at the front, carrying a blue cloth bundle on his shoulder, which contained a few changes of clothes and some dry food for the journey.

Lin's mother followed behind, carrying Tangtang who was still rubbing her eyes. The little girl had just woken up and was a little irritable when her mother dug her out of bed.

Now, nestled on her mother's shoulder, she asked sleepily, "Mom, where are we going?"

"Let's go to Grandma's house."

Lin's mother gently coaxed her.

Lin Tian walked at the very back, carrying a small bundle on his back. His expression was calm, revealing no emotion.

The two groups of people met.

The deaf old lady raised her head, squinted her cloudy old eyes, and looked at the bundle on Lin Jianguo's shoulder. Then she looked at Tangtang in Lin's mother's arms and understood seven or eight parts of the situation.

But she still asked, "Jianguo, what's going on here?"

Before Lin Jianguo could speak, Lin Tian answered first.

"Grandma, my family and I are going to stay at my maternal grandmother's house for a while."

The deaf old lady nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

Wang Cuilan understood as well.

This is to seek refuge.

She mentally went through the names of the people who had recently died: Jia Dongxu, male, young; Liu Guangfu, male, young; Liu Guangtian, male, young; Banggeng, male, child; Yan Jiecheng, male, young; Yan Jiefang, male, young; Yan Jiekuang, male, child; Xu Damao, male, young.

They're all men.

Wang Cuilan couldn't help but glance at Lin Tian, ​​the only boy in the Lin family, who was eight years old.

Although he is young, he is still a boy.

The pheasant was also small, and it still died.

If we don't leave now, the only son of the Lin family might die in this courtyard.

As Wang Cuilan thought about this, a thought suddenly popped into her mind, a thought she had considered before.

She had known for some time that Yi Zhonghai and Qin Huairu were having an affair, but she had been pretending not to know.

She felt guilty for not being able to have children, and endured it for so many years. What did she get in return?

What followed was Yi Zhonghai pressing down on Qin Huairu in the cellar.

Now that so many people have died in the courtyard, and the police can't find the killer, everyone is in danger of losing their own lives.

At a time like this, who cares about anyone else?

She had Yi Zhonghai's savings from all these years, hidden in a tin box in the stove hole.

She could take the money and leave, go back to her parents' home, or go somewhere where no one knows her and start over.

As for the deaf old lady's claim that going to the steel mill to find someone would solve the problem, she didn't believe it.

Eight lives lost, and even the police can't find out. What can an old woman with half her body buried do?

How can human power compare to the power of ghosts and gods?

When she arrived at the steel rolling mill, she went back to pack her things.

If the deaf old lady wanted to go see the factory manager, she could; she neither stopped her nor accompanied her.

The deaf old lady, of course, had no idea what the middle-aged woman was thinking, and a look of approval appeared on her wrinkled face:

"Jianguo, your idea is good. Be careful on the road and stay safe."

Lin Jianguo bowed politely: "Thank you for your concern, madam. Please take care of yourself."

Lin Jianguo's family walked faster, while the deaf old lady walked slower, and gradually the distance between them widened.

No one spoke a word the rest of the way.

The distance from Nanluoguxiang to Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill is not far; it takes about twenty minutes if you walk quickly.

But the deaf old lady had difficulty walking and had to stop and rest after every few steps, so the twenty-minute walk took her forty minutes.

Lin Jianguo turned to his mother and said, "Wait for me at the door. I'm going to ask for leave at the workshop. I'll be right back."

Lin's mother nodded and sat down by the flower bed at the factory gate, holding Tangtang in her arms.

Tangtang is fully awake and is squatting on the ground teasing the ants with a twig.

Lin Tian stood beside his mother, his gaze passing over the factory wall to look at the chimneys and blast furnaces inside.

In my past life, I was tricked and killed in the boiler room.

This blood debt must be avenged.

Lin Jianguo strode into the fitter's workshop, where machines roared and a wave of heat hit him.

Several early workers were stunned when they saw him. Lin Jianguo was never late, so why was he only arriving at this time today?

"Old Lin, what's wrong? You look terrible."

Old Zhou, the shift supervisor, peeked out from behind the lathe.

"There's an emergency at home, so I'm here to ask the director for leave," Lin Jianguo said without further explanation.

I found the workshop director and said a few words to him.

Guo Da Piezi was easy to talk to and granted him a month's leave, only instructing him to return as soon as possible.

Lin Jianguo nodded repeatedly, took the leave slip, left the workshop, and strode towards the factory gate.

On the other side of the factory gate, the deaf old lady walked towards the office building with the help of Wang Cuilan.

The office building is a three-story gray brick building. Director Yang's office is on the second floor, at the far east end, with the window facing the factory's large chimney.

The deaf old lady went up to the second floor, knocked on the door, and heard a voice from inside say "Come in." She pushed the door open and went in.

Wang Cuilan did not follow them inside. She stood in the corridor for a while, then turned around and went downstairs.

At the factory gate.

When Lin Jianguo came out, his mother had already taken Tangtang back into her arms.

Tangtang was holding a foxtail grass in her hand, giggling as she tickled her brother's chin with the tip of the grass.

Lin Tian obediently stepped back, saying "Stop messing around, stop messing around," but a faint smile appeared on his lips.

These moments spent together as a family are truly precious.

Wang Cuilan walked over from the office building and happened to run into Lin Jianguo's family at the factory gate.

Wang Cuilan looked somewhat hurried, her eyes darting around. After greeting Lin Jianguo and his wife, she quickly headed towards the courtyard house.

His steps were quick, completely unlike the slow, leisurely manner he had when he was helping the deaf old lady earlier.

Lin Jianguo glanced at her retreating figure, but without thinking much of it, he took Tangtang from his mother's arms, weighed her in his hands, and made the little girl laugh.

Then the family gestured with their chins toward the train station: "Let's go, to the train station."

Lin Tian glanced at Wang Cuilan's departing figure one more time, and the ghostly shadow beneath his feet silently followed.

The train station is not far from the steel rolling mill; it only takes about ten minutes to walk there.

The train station in Beijing is still small, with only a few dozen people sparsely seated in the drab waiting hall.

Some people were dozing off on the bench with their bags in their arms, while others were squatting in a corner eating cold steamed buns.

There was a short queue in front of the ticket window, and every passenger in line looked disheveled.

Lin Jianguo told his wife and children to wait on the benches in the waiting room while he went to queue up.

"Three hard-seat tickets to Suzhou."

He handed the money and letter of introduction through the window. The ticket seller yawned, took the money and letter of introduction, glanced at them, and slowly tore off three tickets.

The change and letter of introduction were pushed out of the window together: "10:30, gate number six, don't be late."

Lin Jianguo took the ticket, held it in his hand, and looked at it over and over again. It had the words "Sijiucheng - Suzhou" and the departure time printed on it.

……